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o 


ST.  LOUIS 


CENTRAL 
TRAFFIC  -  PARKWAY 


RECOMMENDED 
BY 

The  City  Plan  Commission 


JULY,    1912 

MUNICIPAL  REFERENCH 
DEPARTMENT 

CCri2  1933 

LOS  ANGELES  PUBLIC  LIBRARY 


CITY    PLAN    COMMISSION 
OF  ST.  LOUIS 


MEMBERS  EX-OFFICIO 

John  H.  Gundlach, 
President  City  Council 

John  H.  Sommerich, 
Speaker  House  of  Delegates 

Maxime  Reber, 
President  Board  of  Public  Improvements 

James  C.  Travilla, 
Street  Commissioner 

DwiGHT  M.  Davis, 
Park  Commissioner 

James  N.  McKelvey, 
Building  Commissioner 


MEMBERS  APPOINTED  BY  MAYOR 

George  E.  Kessler       Colin  M.  Selph  Cyrus  P.  Walbridge 

Hugo  A,  Koehler         Charles  A.  Stix  Harry  B.  Wallace 

Philip  C.  Scanlan  . .    William  Trelease        Thomas  C.  Young 


Walter  B.  Stevens, 

Secretary 


—  2  — 


Kl  A 


25745 

AN  ORDINANCE  CREATING  A  CITY  PLAN 

COMMISSION,  DEFINING  THE 

DUTIES  THEREOF 


Be  it  ordained  by  the  Municipal  Assembly  of  the  City  of  St. 
Louis,  as  follows : 

Section  One.  There  is  hereby  created  a  Commission  to  be  known 
as  the  City  Plan  Commission  which  shall  consist  of  fifteen  members. 

Section  Two.  The  President  of  the  City  Council  ex-of6cio,  the 
Speaker  of  the  House  of  Delegates  ex-officio,  the  President  of  the 
Board  of  Public  Improvements  ex-officio,  the  Street  Commissioner 
ex-officio,  the  Park  Commissioner  ex-officio,  and  the  Commissioner  of 
Public  Buildings  ex-officio  shall  be  members  of  said  Commission.  The 
other  nine  members  shall  be  appointed  by  the  Mayor  and  all  members 
of  said  Commission  shall  serve  without  compensation.  Five  of  said 
nine  members  to  be  appointed  by  the  Mayor  shall  be  appointed  for 
four  years  and  the  remaining  four  members  shall  be  appointed  for 
two  years.  All  of  said  members  so  appointed  shall  hold  their  re- 
spective office  until  their  successors  shall  be  duly  appointed  and  quali- 
fied. 

Section  Three.  The  qualifications  of  the  members  so  to  be  ap- 
pointed by  the  Mayor  shall  be  as  provided  in  Section  Ten  of  Article 
Four  of  the  Charter  of  the  City  of  St.  Louis. 

Section  Four.     The  duties  of  the  City  Plan  Commission  shall  be : 

First.  To  prepare  a  comprehensive  city  plan  for  the  future  im- 
provement, as  well  as  for  the  commercial  development  of  the  city,  in- 
cluding recommendations  for : 

(a)  Improvement  of  the  river  front; 

(b)  Extension  of  streets  and  the  supervision  of  the  opening  of 
sub-divisions ; 

—  3  — 


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Report  of  the  City  Plan  Commission 


(c)  Improvement  of  surroundings  of  Union  Station; 

(d)  A  system  of  widening  and  opening  various  through  streets 
so  as  to  make  the  city  more  cohesive  and  less  disjointed ; 

(e)  Control  of  nuisances; 

(f)  A  playground,  park  and  boulevard  system; 

(g)  Location  of  public  buildings ; 

(h)  Encouraging  the  location  of  manufacturing  establishments 
in  designated  districts ; 

(i)   Extension  of  conduit  district  for  wires; 

(j)  Extension  of  granitoid  sidewalk  districts,  and  for  the  regu- 
lation of  same  in  the  residence  districts  so  as  to  provide  for  the  plant- 
ing of  trees  and  for  sufficient  soil  space  to  assure  their  growth ; 

(k)  Such  other  improvements  as  will  tend  to  make  St.  Louis  a 
greater  and  more  beautiful  city. 

Second.  To  suggest  the  state  and  municipal  legislation  neces- 
sary to  carry  out  the  recommendations  of  the  Commission. 

Section  Five.  The  Commission  shall  make  all  rules  for  its  guid- 
ance and  procedure. 

Section  Six.  The  Commission  shall  submit  a  report  to  the  Mu- 
nicipal Assembly  as  comprehensive  as  may  be,  on  or  before  January 
first,  nineteen  hundred  and  twelve,  and  shall  make  such  other  reports 
as  the  Commission  may  deem  advisable. 

Approved  March  27,  1911. 


Report  op  the  City  Plan  Commission 


CENTRAL   TRAFFIC -PARKWAY 

REPORT  OF  THE  CITY  PLAN  COMMISSION,  JULY  9,  1912. 

To  the  Honorable  Municipal  Assembly  of  the  City  of  St.  Louis — 
Gentlemen  : 

Under  the  provisions  of  ordinance  25745,  approved  March  27, 
1911,  the  City  Plan  Commission  submits  the  following  report : 

The  Commission  unanimously  recommends  that  the  city  acquire 
by  condemnation  the  property  embraced  in  the  city  blocks  bounded 
by  Market  and  Chestnut  streets.  Twelfth  street  and  Jefferson  avenue, 
to  create  a  central  traffic-parkway.  The  Commission  recommends 
this  as  the  essential  first  step  to  be  taken  under  Section  Four  of  the 
Ordinance,  which  provides  that — 

' '  The  duties  of  the  City  Plan  Commission  shall  be : 

"First.  To  prepare  a  comprehensive  city  plan  for  the  future 
improvement  as  well  as  for  the  commercial  development  of  the  city, 
including  recommendations  for : 

"(c)   Improvement  of  surroundings  of  Union  Station. 

"(d)  A  system  of  widening  and  opening  various  through  streets, 
so  as  to  make  the  city  more  cohesive  and  less  disjointed. 

"(f)   A  playground,  park  and  boulevard  system." 

The  Initial  Step. 

This  traffic-parkway  from  Twelfth  street  to  Jefferson  avenue  is 
the  initial  step  in  the  planning  for  a  greater  and  better  St.  Louis. 
If  approved,  it  will  be  followed  naturally  by  extension  westward  from 
Jefferson  avenue  to  Grand  avenue.  The  best  city  planning  is  that  which 
permits  traffic  to  pass  from  any  point  to  any  other  point  in  a  city  by 
the  most  direct  and  expeditious  routes.  Judged  by  such  definition 
St.  Louis  to-day  is  not  well  planned.  The  traffic-parkway  from 
Twelfth  street  to  Grand  avenue  will  become  a  main  artery  of  travel 
east  and  west.  It  will  be  supplemented  by  connecting  radial  thor- 
oughfares which  will  make  the  city  cohesive.     There  will  follow  prop- 


Report  of  the  City  Plan  Commission 


erly  the  creation  of  a  traffic-parkway  from  the  vicinity  of  Twelfth 
street  and  Washington  avenue  northwesterly,  touching  small  parks 
and  playgrounds,  including  St.  Louis  Place,  and  making  connection 
with  Natural  Bridge  Road  and  Florissant  avenue.  This  will  bring 
North  St.  Louis  into  direct  and  close  relationship  with  the  business 
center.  From  Twelfth  street  and  Clark  avenue  will  extend  south- 
westerly to  the  suburbs  a  traffic-parkway  corresponding  with  that  of 
the  northwest,  reaching  the  parks  and  playgrounds  of  the  southern 
half  of  the  city  and  tying  that  section  by  direct  means  of  communica- 
tion to  the  business  center. 

Depreciating  Values. 

In  the  vicinity  of  Olive  and  Twelfth  streets  values  range  from 
$1,000  a  front  foot  upwards.  About  the  intersection  of  Grand  av- 
enue and  Olive  street  values  have  climbed  to  similar  figures.  Be- 
tween these  two  centers  of  high-priced  and  rising  property  lies  a  strip 
two  miles  long  and  half  a  mile  wide.  Three-fourths  of  the  property 
embraced  in  that  strip  is  not  worth  as  much  as  it  was  twenty  years 
ago.  A  considerable  portion  would  not  sell  to-day  for  the  prices  re- 
alized thirty  years  ago.  And  some  of  it  has  dropped  below  the  value 
of  forty  years  ago.  The  depreciation  in  many  blocks  has  carried  this 
property  downward  to  one-third  and  one-half  of  what  it  was  consid- 
ered worth  by  a  former  generation.  Rentals  have  been  reduced  to 
fractions  of  what  the  improved  property  once  yielded.  Four- fifths 
of  the  buildings  have  been  allowed  to  deteriorate.  Hundreds  of  these 
buildings  are  now  untenanted.  A  thousand  of  them  yield  the  owners 
only  nominal  revenue. 

A  Blighted  District. 

And  yet  this  strip  is  the  geographical  center  of  St.  Louis.  Its 
gently  undulating  topography  is  ideal  for  the  best  city  growth.  This 
"blighted  district"  fronts  upon  the  main  gateway  into  the  citj'. 
Lengthwise  through  it  run  the  chief  lines  of  travel  between  the  busi- 
ness center  and  the  residence  sections. 

Except  in  a  few  scattered  localities  the  conditions,  bad  as  they 
are,  are  growing  worse.  The  general  tendency  of  values  is  down- 
ward. More  than  one-half  of  the  frontage  is  for  sale.  There  is  prac- 
tically no  market  for  ground  west  of  Jefferson  avenue,  east  of  Theresa 
avenue  and  south  of  Locust  street.  The  occasional  transactions  that 
are  taking  place  east  of  Jefferson  avenue  are  at  prices  so  low  as  to 
tempt  speculative  buyers  willing  to  wait  an  indefinite  period. 

The  few  improvements  between  Olive  and  Market  streets  consist 

—  6  — 


Report  of  the  City  Plan  Commission 


chiefly  of  light  manufacturing  plants  attracted  there  by  the  cheapness 
of  the  ground.  Possibly  in  the  course  of  the  next  two  generationa 
this  blighted  district,  if  nothing  is  done  to  redeem  it,  may  be  occu- 
pied by  three-story  and  four-story  factories.  That  seems  to  be  fore- 
casted by  the  transition  now  in  its  early  stages.  Such  an  evolution 
would  fix  the  undesirable  character  of  the  strip  for  the  next  half  cen- 
tury and  perhaps  permanently.  It  would  hold  down  values  in  the  en- 
tire district.  It  would  have  a  damaging  influence  on  the  city's 
growth. 

Grand  and  Olive. 

To-day  the  commercial  and  financial  heart  of  St.  Louis  is  between 
Fourth  and  Twelfth  streets,  Washington  avenue  and  Market  streets. 
Five  years  ago  the  intersection  of  Broadway  and  Washington  avenue 
was  the  center  of  greatest  sidewalk  traffic.  To-day,  in  the  course  of 
every  twenty-four  hours,  more  people  pass  the  crossing  of  Grand  av- 
enue and  Olive  street  than  any  other  intersection  of  St.  Louis  thor- 
oughfares. Grand  avenue  is  fifteen  minutes  from  North  St.  Louis, 
from  South  St.  Louis,  from  West  St.  Louis,  from  anywhere.  The 
daily  papers,  within  a  month,  have  called  attention  to  the  fact  that 
improvements  being  made  and  planned  in  the  vicinity  of  this  rising 
center  amount  to  over  $6,000,000. 

No  gift  of  prophecy  is  necessary  to  predict  what  may  happen  if 
the  central  section  of  the  city  from  Twelfth  street  to  Grand  avenue  is 
allowed  to  remain  in  the  present  undesirable  state  until  occupied 
gradually  by  manufacturing  industries  encouraged  by  the  present 
cheapness  of  the  ground.  From  Twelfth  street  to  Grand  avenue  the 
district  between  Washington  avenue  and  Market  street  should  be  pre 
pared  for  the  future  commercial  expansion.  In  obedience  to  the 
city's  natural  growth  stores,  wholesale  and  retail,  hotels,  downtown 
apartment  houses,  places  of  amusement,  should  occupy  the  territory 
westward  along  Washington  avenue,  Locust,  Olive,  Pine,  Chestnut 
and  Market  streets.  These  frontages  should  advance  rapidly  by  the 
legitimate  expansion  of  business  and  without  depreciation  of  any 
other  section. 

Shifting  Values. 

St.  Louis  has  suffered  severely  from  the  shifting  of  values.  The 
city  has  seen  the  leading  commercial  thoroughfares  of  one  generation 
become  the  depreciated  and  half-deserted  avenues  of  another.  The 
palatial  homes  of  one  generation  have  become  the  rooming  houses  of 


Report  of  the  City  Plan  Commission 


the  next.  St.  Louis  has  ruins  east  of  Fourth  street  and  this  long 
blighted  district  west  of  Twelfth  street.  City  planning  should  aim 
to  steady  and  make  permanent  the  values  of  the  business  district.  It 
should  provide  for  logical  commercial  growth  which  will  not  be  at 
the  expense  and  loss  of  any  other  section.  It  should  create  great 
thoroughfares  which  will  take  care  of  future  traffic  without  that  con- 
gestion already  apparent  on  downtown  streets. 

Looking  to  such  desirable  development,  the  City  Plan  Commis- 
sion recommends  the  acquisition  of  the  blocks  between  Market  and 
Chestnut  streets  westward  from  Twelfth  street  to  Jefferson  avenue, 
for  the  creation  of  the  central  traffic-parkway.  Present  low  values 
of  realty  encourage  immediate  action. 

Conditions  Which  Favor. 

The  frontage  on  Twelfth  street,  between  Market  and  Chestnut 
streets,  is  assessed  at  $1,000  per  front  foot  for  the  corner  of  Twelfth 
and  Chestnut,  and  $1,100  per  front  foot  for  the  corner  at  Twelfth  and 
Market.  The  frontage  on  Twelfth  street  between  the  two  corners  is 
assessed  at  $650  per  front  foot. 

In  the  western  part  of  the  block,  extending  to  Thirteenth  street, 
the  frontage  on  Chestnut  street  is  assessed  at  $225  and  on  Market 
street  at  $400.  These  assessments  hold  for  the  two  frontages  except 
the  corners  at  Thirteenth  street,  which  are  assessed  at  $350  for  the 
Chestnut  street  corner  and  $500  for  the  Market  street  corner. 

On  Grand  avenue,  the  western  terminus  of  the  proposed  traffic- 
parkway,  the  ground  between  Lawton  and  Pine  streets  is  assessed  at 
$350  on  Pine  for  the  Grand  avenue  corner  and  at  $150  on  Lawton  for 
the  Grand  avenue  corner.  From  both  ends  of  the  traffic-parkway 
valuations  diminish  rapidly.  East  of  Jefferson  avenue  the  ground  is 
assessed  as  low  as  $55  per  front  foot  for  Chestnut  street  frontage,  and 
as  low  as  $65  per  front  foot  for  Market  street  frontage.  West  of  Jef- 
ferson avenue  a  considerable  part  of  the  frontage  of  Pine  street  is  as- 
sessed as  low  as  $35  per  front  foot,  while  the  assessment  of  the  ground 
fronting  on  Lawi;on  avenue  between  Jefferson  and  Grand  for  several 
blocks  runs  as  low  as  $30  per  front  foot. 

Cheap  Improvements. 

The  valuations  of  improvements  in  the  blocks  wdthin  the  limits  of 
the  proposed  traffic-parkway  show  the  same  tendency  downward.  Be- 
tween Twelfth  street  and  Jefferson  avenue,  Market  and  Chestnut 
streets,  there  is  only  one  block  on  which  the  improvements  are  rated 


a  v«^ 


Report  of  the  City  Plan  Commission 


by  the  assessor  at  over  $100,000.  That  is  the  block  between  Eigh- 
teenth and  Nineteenth,  Market  and  Chestnut  streets,  opposite  Union 
Station.  The  principal  structures  are  hotels.  The  total  valuation  of 
the  improvements  of  the  entire  block  is  $116,800.  The  improvements 
of  the  block  between  Sixteenth  and  Seventeenth,  Market  and  Chest- 
nut, are  valued  at  only  $41,800.  The  valuations  of  improvements 
on  the  other  blocks  range  between  $45,000  and  $100,000. 

The  total  valuation  of  all  of  the  improvements  in  the  twelve 
blocks  from  Twelfth  street  to  Jefferson  avenue,  comprehended  in  the 
recommended  plan  for  the  traffic-parkway,  is  $840,950,  an  average 
of  only  $70,000  to  the  block. 

In  the  nine  blocks  forming  what  may  become  the  western  sec- 
tion of  the  proposed  traffic-parkway,  between  Lawton  avenue  and 
Pine  street,  extending  from  Jefferson  avenue  to  Grand  avenue,  the 
improvements  range  from  $49,500  to  $128,600.  The  former  valua- 
tion is  for  the  improvements  of  the  block  between  Lefifingwell  and 
Ewing,  while  the  latter  valuation  covers  the  block  between  Ewing  and 
Garrison.  The  total  assessed  valuation  for  all  improvements  on  the 
nine  blocks  is  $815,100. 

For  the  entire  twenty-one  blocks  between  Twelfth  street  and 
Grand  avenue  the  valuation  of  the  improvements  is  placed  by  the  as- 
sessor at  only  $1,656,050. 

Traffic-Parkway  Plans. 

Five  tentative  plans  before  the  Commission  illustrate  the  possi- 
ble development  of  this  traffic-parkway.  The  blocks  between  Market 
and  Chestnut  streets  are  narrow  from  north  to  south  as  compared 
with  other  St.  Louis  city  blocks.  Lots  fronting  on  these  streets  are 
only  81  feet  deep  in  the  block  from  Twelfth  to  Thirteenth  street. 
West  of  Thirteenth  street  the  lots  are  from  72  feet  to  73  feet  5  inches 
in  depth.     This  shallow  condition  prevails  to  Jefferson  avenue. 

The  condemnation  of  the  blocks  would  give  the  city  for  the  pro- 
posed traffic-parkway  a  space  of  287  feet  width  from  the  north  side 
of  Chestnut  street  to  the  south  side  of  Market  street.  The  tentative 
plans  contemplate  a  division  of  this  space  into  sidewalks,  two  traffic- 
ways,  two  spaces  for  street  car  tracks,  two  narrow  parks  and  a  cen- 
tral boulevard. 

The  tentative  plans  differ  chiefly  in  the  proposed  width  of  the 
sub-divisions.  One  of  the  plans  gives  the  sidewalks  along  the  prop- 
erty line  of  Chestnut  and  Market  streets  a  width  of  ten  feet.  Next 
to  the  sidewalk  is  allowed  a  space  of  ten  feet  for  grass  and  trees.   The 


Report  of  the  City  Plan  Commission 


trafficways  are  45  feet  in  width,  this  space  including  the  two  reserva- 
tions for  the  car  tracks,  which  are  located  along  the  south  side  of  the 
Chestnut  street  trafficway  and  along  the  north  side  of  the  Market 
street  traflScway.  Next  to  the  car  track  reservations  are  the  strips  of 
parking,  each  having  a  width  of  about  55  feet.  This  width  is  divided 
to  provide  for  a  lawn  of  thirty  feet,  with  two  rows  of  trees,  bordered 
by  walks  12  feet  wide.  Between  the  two  strips  of  parking  is  a  boule- 
vard 50  feet  in  width. 

Five  Tentative  Plans. 

The  trafficways  are  for  business  and  slow-moving  vehicles.  The 
boulevard  is  intended  for  fast-moving  light  vehicles.  Along  the  street 
car  reservations  are  walks  bordering  on  the  strips  of  lawn.  This  ten- 
tative plan  is  Sketch  A. 

Sketch  B  varies  from  Sketch  A  in  that  it  offers  a  different  ar- 
rangement of  the  walks  in  the  parking,  so  that  one  walk  passes  be- 
tween and  underneath  the  double  row  of  trees.  The  space  allowed 
between  the  rows  of  trees  is  20  feet.  The  park  width,  including  the 
walk  beneath  the  trees,  is  53  feet  6  inches.  The  trafficways  in  Sketch 
B  are  45  feet,  the  same  as  in  Sketch  A. 

Sketch  C  proposes  to  make  the  walks  on  the  Chestnut  and  Mar- 
ket street  frontages  16  feet  wide  and  narrows  the  trafficways  to  36 
feet,  placing  the  street  car  tracks  within  the  parking  in  such  manner 
that  only  the  rails  show  above  the  grass.  This  plan  would  give  for 
the  parking,  which  includes  the  street  car  track  space  and  the  walk 
on  either  side  of  the  double  row  of  trees,  a  greater  width  than  sug- 
gested in  the  other  sketches. 

Sketch  D  also  suggests  the  placing  of  the  car  tracks  in  the  park- 
ing and  covering  all  but  the  rails  with  grass.  It  allows  16  feet  for 
the  Chestnut  and  Market  street  walks,  and  gives  the  driveways  a  clear 
width  without  street  car  interference  of  36  feet.  It  provides  for  two 
rows  of  trees  in  each  strip  of  parking  on  either  side  of  the  boulevard, 
and  for  a  row  of  trees  between  the  sidewalks  and  the  trafficways. 

Sketch  E  illustrates  the  possibilities  of  a  subway  underneath  the 
traffic-parkway  at  minimum  cost  for  construction  and  with  no  dam- 
age to  abutting  property.  The  removal  of  the  car  tracks  and  the  sub- 
stitution of  a  subway  would  allow,  according  to  this  sketch,  a  width  of 
66  feet  6  inches  for  each  strip  of  parking,  including  the  sidewalks  un- 
derneath the  trees. 

—  13  — 


Report  of  the  City  Plan  Commission 


World-Famous  Thoroughfares. 

In  creating  a  traffic-parkway  such  as  that  proposed  between 
Market  and  Chestnut  streets,  St.  Louis  will  be  proceeding  along  lines 
of  development  which  have  been  tested  and  proved  in  other  cities. 
The  width  is  not  excessive  as  compared  with  what  other  cities  have 
done.  The  wisdom  of  separation  of  fast  and  slow  traffic  has  been 
demonstrated  and  is  no  longer  questioned.  The  expected  great  in- 
crease of  values  on  either  side  of  the  proposed  traffic-parkway  is 
based  upon  the  experience  of  other  cities.  Paris  has,  in  the  world- 
famous  Avenue  des  Champs  Elysees,  a  thoroughfare  250  feet  wide. 

Philadelphia  has  planned  the  opening  of  a  parkway  from  the 
City  Hall  to  the  Art  Museum  on  Reservoir  Hill  and  Fairmount"  Park, 
to  be  cut  diagonally  through  existing  blocks.  This  parkway  is  to  be 
300  feet  wide,  and  the  cost  of  it  is  estimated  at  between  $7,000,000 
and  $8,000,000.  Experts  have  reported  that  the  increase  of  tax  rev- 
enue due  to  the  enhanced  values  of  adjacent  property  will  net  enough 
to  pay  the  interest  on  a  bond  issue  for  the  full  cost  of  the  property 
condemned  and  to  provide  a  sinking  fund. 

Some  of  the  great  thoroughfares  of  the  world  which  have  re- 
deemed districts  and  greatly  increased  values  of  adjacent  property 
are  as  follows : 

The  Avenue  des  Champs  Elysees,  Paris,  250  feet. 

Reeperbahn,  Hamburg,  210  feet. 

Unter  den  Linden,  Berlin,  190  feet. 

Ring  Strasse,  Vienna,  185  feet. 

Belle  Alliance  Strasse,  Berlin,  160  feet. 

Andrassy,  Buda  Pesth,  145  feet. 

Avenue  Henri  Martin,  Paris,  130  feet. 

The  Profit  in  Parkways. 

Kansas  City  affords  a  nearby  illustration  of  what  can  be  done 
by  a  traffic-parkway.  The  Paseo  of  that  city,  a  combination  of  traffic 
and  parkway,  redeemed  a  blighted  district.  It  is  now  bordered  by 
high-class  improvements,  which  have  taken  the  place  of  small,  cheap 
structures.  The  property  adjacent  to  the  Paseo  has  doubled  and 
trebled  in  value  as  the  result  of  the  improvement. 

Commonwealth  avenue  in  Boston  affords  another  illustration  of 
values  given  to  abutting  property  by  two  trafficways  with  parking 
between. 

—  11  — 


Report  of  the  City  Plan  Commission 


The  plan  of  Seattle,  recently  adopted  by  the  Municipal  Plan 
Commission  of  that  city,  provides  for  a  central  avenue  180  feet  wide. 

A  significant  fact  bearing  upon  the  central  traffic-parkway  prop- 
osition is  the  local  condition  at  two  points  on  the  two-mile  strip.  The 
most  valuable  properties  which  it  is  proposed  to  condemn  lie  in  front 
of  the  City  Hall  and  in  front  of  the  Union  Station.  These  two  blocks 
in  front  of  the  City  Hall  with  improvements  are  assessed  at  $601,970 ; 
the  two  blocks  in  front  of  Union  Station  with  improvements  are  as- 
sessed at  $694,245.  The  total  of  the  four  blocks,  $1,296,215,  is  31.5 
per  cent  of  the  assessed  valuations  of  the  entire  21  blocks  from 
Twelfth  street  to  Grand  avenue.  The  marked  increase  in  values  of 
the  properties  in  front  of  the  City  Hall  and  in  front  of  the  Union 
Station  are  due  largely  to  the  civic  center  and  to  the  transportation 
center.  They  safely  indicate  what  may  be  expected  for  adjacent 
property  in  the  way  of  increased  values  as  soon  as  the  central  traffic- 
parkway  is  a  certainty. 

Union  Station  Surroundings. 

Every  public-spirited  citizen  of  St.  Louis  has  regretted  the  de- 
pressing influence  of  surroundings  upon  the  stranger  stepping  out  of 
Union  Station.  Many  park  and  boulevard  suggestions  to  remedy  the 
situation  have  been  made  and  urged.  The  central  traffic-parkway 
will  be  more  effective  than  any  limited  park  or  plaza.  From  the 
front  of  Union  Station  the  stranger  will  look  east  or  west  as  far  as 
the  vision  extends  along  the  double  trafficway,  the  boulevard  and  the 
parking.  The  view  will  be  such  as  no  other  American  city  affords  the 
incoming  stranger. 

St.  Louis  has  no  park  between  Wash  street  on  the  north  and  the 
Mill  Creek  valley  on  the  south.  There  is  not  in  all  this  central  sec- 
tion a  spot  out  of  doors  which  offers  rest.  The  proposed  improve- 
ment will  give  the  city  a  park  two  miles  long,  narrow,  to  be  sure,  but 
of  sufficient  width  for  trees  and  grass,  walks  and  seats.  From  thi: 
south  and  from  the  north  these  park  facilities  will  be  within  easy 
walking  distance  of  many  thousands  of  those  city  dwellers  to  whom 
the  shade  and  the  green  mean  most. 

Down-Town  Dwellers. 

All  of  St.  Louis  cannot  live  west  of  Grand  avenue.  There  is  a 
downtown  population  to-day.  There  will  be  a  downtown  population 
for  generations  to  come.  The  people  who  must  make  their  homes 
within  the  central  strip  and  near  its  northern  and  southern  borders 

—  12  — 


Report  of  the  City  Plan  Commission 


have  rights  to  fresh  air  and  to  the  other  park  benefits.  This  central 
parkway  will  recognize  those  rights  for  all  time  to  come. 

The  opening  of  wide,  tree-bordered  thoroughfares  and  the  estab- 
lishment of  large  parks  west  of  Grand  avenue  have  made  the  St. 
Louis  summer  not  only  tolerable  but  agreeable  to  a  large  proportion 
of  the  population.  The  creation  of  spacious  parkways  east  of  Grand 
avenue  will  tend  to  similar  conditions  in  that  section  and  is  justly 
due  to  the  people  who  live  there. 

The  primary  reason  for  the  traffic-parkway  is  found  in  the  travel 
facilities  which  such  a  thoroughfare  will  aiford  the  present  and  com- 
ing generations.  From  several  other  points  of  view  the  proposition 
is  interesting  and  desirable. 

A  Section  Without  Parks. 

The  population  between  Lucas  avenue  on  the  north  and  the  Mill 
Creek  Valley  railroad  tracks  on  the  south,  Twelfth  street  on  the  east 
and  Grand  avenue  on  the  west,  as  shown  by  the  census  of  1910,  is 
40,601. 

To  this  may  be  added  properly  the  population  between  Lucas 
avenue  on  the  south  and  Cass  avenue  on  the  north.  Twelfth  street  on 
the  east  and  Grand  avenue  on  the  west.  This  resident  population, 
according  to  the  census  of  1910,  is  60,939. 

According  to  the  latest  census,  therefore,  there  are  101,540  peo- 
ple of  St.  liOuis  living  within  easy  walking  distance  of  the  central 
traffic-parkway.  And  these  101,540  people  are  almost  entirely  with- 
out park  benefits  to-day.  They  have  one  park  of  a  single  block  on 
Carr  street  and  one  of  a  single  block  on  Glasgow  avenue.  They  have 
two  playgrounds,  each  of  a  single  block. 

"Within  the  district  bounded  by  Lucas  avenue  on  the  north,  Mill 
Creek  valley  on  the  south.  Grand  avenue  on  the  west  and  Twelfth 
street  on  the  east  there  are  991  acres,  showing  at  present  a  resident 
population  of  41  to  the  acre.  In  other  words,  there  are  in  this  dis- 
trict 26,218  people  to  the  square  mile. 

Within  the  district  bounded  by  Cass  avenue  on  the  north,  Lucas 
avenue  on  the  south,  Twelfth  street  on  the  east  and  Grand  avenue  on 
the  west,  there  are  763.81  acres,  showing  at  present  a  resident  popu- 
lation of  79.7  to  the  acre.  In  this  district  there  are  59,462  people  to 
the  square  mile. 

Density  of  Population. 

The  average  population  of  St.  Louis  to  the  acre  is  17.49,  or  11,193 
to  the  square  mile. 

—  13  — 


Report  of  the  City  Plan  Commission 


The  greatest  density  of  population  in  St.  Louis,  as  shown  by  the 
census  of  1910,  is  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  0 'Fallon  and  High 
streets,  where  the  average  is  162  to  the  acre.  The  next  greatest  den- 
sity of  population  is  in  the  vicinity  of  Biddle  and  Eighteenth  streets, 
where  the  average  is  148  to  the  acre.  The  third  greatest  density  is 
in  the  vicinity  of  Thirteenth  and  Carr  streets,  where  the  average  is 
145  to  the  acre. 

Here  are  the  great  melting  pots  of  St.  Louis.  Here  live  these 
many  thousands  of  St.  Louisans  to  whom  Forest,  0 'Fallon  and  Ca- 
rondelet  parks  are  almost  unknown  countries.  Car  fare  is  a  finan- 
cial problem  with  many.  Park  privileges  must  be  within  walking 
distance  for  them.  To  these  considerable  elements  in  the  population 
the  parkway  offers  that  rest  and  recreation  to  which  their  citizenship 
entitles  them. 

The  Night  Problem. 

In  the  central  traffic-parkway  the  night  problem  of  downtown 
St.  Louis  will  find  a  solution.  The  boulevard,  50  feet  wide,  two  miles 
long,  cleared  for  swift  traffic,  bordered  by  trees  and  grass,  provided 
with  seats,  amply  lighted  after  dark,  will  become  the  most  frequented 
and  most  popular  thoroughfare  in  all  St.  Louis.  Into  it  at  Grand 
avenue  will  tie  Lindell,  "West  Pine  and  Forest  Park  boulevards.  In 
and  out  of  it  at  the  Twelfth  street  end  will  flow  night  traffic  such  as 
the  business  district  now  knows  only  on  one  night  of  the  year,  that  of 
the  Veiled  Prophet. 

In  Twelfth  street  to-day  St.  Louis  has  a  fire  guard  of  inestimable 
value.  No  conflagration  driven  east  or  west  could  cross  that  plaza. 
In  the  central  traffic-parkway  St.  Louis  would  possess  a  like  fire  guard 
against  flames  driven  by  a  north  or  a  south  wind.  The  large  cities 
face  continually  the  possibilities  of  spreading  flames.  They  have  en- 
deavored to  lessen  this  danger  by  resort  to  prevention  in  construction 
materials.  Of  more  recent  years,  with  the  warning  experiences  of 
Chicago,  Boston,  Baltimore  and  San  Francisco,  the  argument  in  favor 
of  plazas  or  parkways  dividing  business  districts  into  sections  has 
become  one  of  the  strong  incentives  to  the  opening  of  these  spaces. 
The  central  traffic-parkway  would  give  a  fire  guard  of  two  miles,  im- 
passable for  any  conflagration  starting  in  the  Mill  Creek  valley  and 
driven  northward,  or  for  any  spread  of  flames  originating  between 
Twelfth  street  and  Grand  avenue  and  moving  southward  before  a 
north  wind. 

—  14  — 


Report  of  the  City  Plan  Commission 


Evolution  of  a  City  Plan. 

St.  Louis  fully  recognizes  the  importance  of  planning  for  the 
future.  The  ordinance  creating  the  City  Plan  Commission  and  de- 
fining its  duties  is  evidence  of  it.  The  Commission  is  an  evolution. 
For  several  years  the  Civic  League  and  the  various  improvement  as- 
sociations of  St.  Louis  have  been  devoting  voluntary  effort  toward 
city  planning.  The  Board  of  Public  Improvements  and  the  Munici- 
pal Assembly  have  taken  important  steps  along  the  best  approved 
lines  in  the  direction  of  modern  city  planning.  Public-spirited  citi- 
zens formed  what  was  called  the  City  Plan  Association.  The  mem- 
bers of  that  organization  paid  from  their  own  pockets  the  expense  of 
much  investigation  and  of  preparation  of  suggestions  for  a  better  St. 
Louis.  They  held  many  meetings  and  presented  through  an  execu- 
tive committee  a  valuable  report  upon  the  subject  of  city  planning 
for  St.  Louis.  The  movement  gained  such  strength  through  the  vol- 
unteer work  of  citizen  organizations  and  through  practical  steps  taken 
by  the  Board  of  Public  Improvements  and  the  Municipal  Assembly 
that  the  City  Plan  Commission  was  created  by  ordinance.  The  mem- 
bers of  the  Commission  give  their  time  and  thought  without  compen- 
sation. 

Growth  of  the  City. 

Half  a  century  ago  only  three  per  cent  of  the  population  of  the 
United  States  dwelt  in  cities.  Now,  as  shown  by  the  census  of  1910. 
thirty-three  of  every  hundred  Americans  live  in  cities  of  8,000  and 
upwards.  Including  those  communities  below  8,000,  the  urban  life 
of  the  United  States  is  between  forty-four  and  forty-five  per  cent  of 
the  entire  population.  In  other  words,  40,000,000  people  now  live 
in  American  cities  and  towns.  More  than  200  of  these  communities 
have  taken  up  city  and  town  planning  to  better  the  living  conditions. 
These  facts  show  the  character  of  the  problem  and  the  magnitude  of 
the  movement. 

Within  the  month  just  passed  the  fourth  session  of  the  National 
City  Planning  Conference  was  held  in  Boston.  The  conference  was 
a  body  of  mayors  and  other  municipal  officers,  architects,  landscape 
architects,  city  engineers  and  city  plan  commissioners  from  the  prin- 
cipal cities  of  the  United  States  and  Canada.  The  keynote  of  utility 
was  sounded  early  and  often  in  the  session.  Arnold  W.  Brunner  of 
New  York  defined  the  city  planning  movement  in  these  words : 

"The  first  impression  we  must  overcome  is  that  the  city  is  to  be 

—  15  — 


Report  op  the  City  Plan  Commission 


turned  over  to  a  number  of  artists  who  intend  in  some  vague  way  to 
make  it  beautiful.  City  planning  means  the  rational  treatment  of  a 
city  to  promote  the  convenience  and  health  of  its  citizens.  A  city 
plan  will  not  be  ruinously  expensive  and  plunge  the  city  into  debt. 
It  simply  means  the  exercise  of  such  prudence  and  forethought  as  are 
necessary  to  get  the  success  of  any  business  enterprise." 

Utility,  Comfort,  Economy. 

Frederick  Law  Olmstead,  the  chairman  of  the  Executive  Commit- 
tee of  the  Conference,  said  at  the  beginning  of  the  sessions  city  plan- 
ning is  "the  intelligent  control  and  guidance  of  the  entire  physical 
growth  and  alterations  of  cities ;  embracing  all  of  the  problems  of  re- 
lieving and  avoiding  congestion — congestion  of  people  in  buildings 
and  of  buildings  upon  land,  congestion  of  transportation  facilities, 
congestion  in  respect  to  the  means  of  supplying  light,  air,  water,  or 
anything  else  essential  to  the  health  and  happiness  of  the  people,  but 
also  embracing  in  addition  to  the  problems  of  congestion,  each  one  of 
the  myriad  problems  involved  in  making  our  cities  year  by  year,  in 
their  physical  arrangement  and  equipment,  healthier,  pleasanter  and 
more  economical  instruments  for  the  use  of  the  people  who  dwell 
within  them  in  carrying  on  the  part  of  the  work  and  life  of  the  world 
which  is  not  to  be  done  in  the  open  country. ' ' 

Experts  on  St.  Louis  Problem. 

In  this  spirit  the  conference  worked  through  the  three  days'  ses- 
sion. One  session  was  devoted  to  "the  problem  of  blighted"  dis- 
tricts, which  J.  Randolph  Coolidge,  Jr.,  described  as  "districts  in 
which  land  values  after  a  period  of  increase  are  stationary  or  fall- 
ing." The  conditions  of  two  blighted  districts  of  St.  Louis  and  the 
treatment  of  them  proposed  by  the  City  Plan  Commission  were  laid 
before  members  of  the  conference  for  criticism.  The  suggested  com- 
bination of  traffic  and  parkways  from  Twelfth  street  westward  to 
Grand  avenue  was  explained.     As  to  the  niing  influence  of  this 

plan  upon  the  whole  district  now  sufferin?.  was  no  difference  of 

opinion  among  the  city  planners.  Other  cities  have  met  conditions 
similar  to  those  which  exist  between  Twelfth  street  and  Grand  avenue 
and  have  found  that  a  great  thoroughfare  similar  to  that  in  contem- 
plation by  the  City  Plan  Commission  of  St.  Louis  has  quickened 
values  in  the  district  to  a  surprising  degree.  The  payment  of  bene- 
fits by  installments  distributed  through  a  series  of  years  was  strongly 


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Report  of  the  City  Plan  Commission 


recommended  by  the  city  planners  in  their  consideration  of  the  prac- 
ticability of  the  St.  Louis  traffic-parkway. 

Other  Cities  Moving. 

Boston,  New  York  and  Philadelphia  are  opening  new  and  widen- 
ing old  streets  in  the  congested  or  blighted  districts  at  the  cost  of 
many  millions  of  dollars  to  remedy  their  local  conditions  similar  to 
those  which  affect  the  St.  Louis  district  between  Twelfth  street  and 
Grand  avenue.  It  was  stated  that  Boston's  plans  for  new  or  wider 
streets,  including  what  has  been  spent  recently,  will  cost  over  $30,- 
000,000.  For  a  third  of  a  century  Boston  has  had  under  considera- 
tion a  thoroughfare  directly  connecting  the  two  great  terminals.  But 
during  this  time  property  values  have  been  increasing,  and  now  such 
a  main  trafficway  will  cost  enormously.  The  regret  of  the  Boston 
authorities  is  that  the  thoroughfare  was  not  put  through  between  the 
terminals  when  the  necessity  for  it  was  first  felt. 

Mr.  Coolidge  is  a  member  of  the  Metropolitan  Plan  Commission 
created  by  the  Massachusetts  Legislature.  In  an  address  before  the 
conference  upon  this  subject  of  blighted  districts,  he  said : 

Conservating  Values. 

"City  planning  has  new  functions  more  important  than  the  con- 
servation and  restoration  of  impaired  land  values.  All  that  public 
authority  can  lawfully  do  to  make  life  more  agreeable  in  such  dis- 
tricts should  be  done  rather  than  in  those  that  pay  a  larger  share  of 
the  taxes  or  have  an  increasing  population.  No  city  is  well  admin- 
istered unless  the  whole  of  it  is  well  administered.  Where  private 
capital  halts  and  dreads  the  risk,  and  feels  no  responsibility  for  fu- 
ture conditions,  public  credit  must  be  applied,  and  declining  values, 
social  and  economic,  must  be  supported  until  they  can  stand  alone, 
for  the  city,  unlike  a  business  enterprise,  cannot  liquidate,  it  cannot 
discard  its  unprofitable  lines.  It  must  grow,  it  must  change,  but  it 
must  not  depreciate. ' ' 

Improvement  in  the  approaches  to  and  in  the  thoroughfares 
through  blighted  districts  comes  first  in  the  remedies  suggested  by  the 
experts  in  city  planning.  By  the  widening  of  streets,  by  the  plant- 
ing of  trees,  by  the  creation  of  open  spaces  and  squares,  by  play- 
grounds and  small  parks,  other  cities  are  redeeming  their  blighted 
districts. 

—  17  — 


Report  of  the  City  Plan  Commission 


Counting  the  Cost. 

One  of  the  most  important  sessions  of  the  City  Planning  Confer- 
ence was  that  devoted  to  the  problem  of  "paying  the  bills  for  city  im- 
provements. ' '  Nelson  P.  Lewis,  chief  engineer  of  the  Board  of  Esti- 
mates and  Apportionment  of  New  York  City,  opened  the  session  with 
a  strong  argument,  in  the  course  of  which  he  said : 

"One  principle  should  be  invariably  recognized;  namely,  where 
there  is  local  benefit  there  should  be  local  assessment."  He  said 
that  a  change  in  the  laws  of  New  York  which  enlarged  the  power  of 
local  assessment  on  property  most  benefited  had  worked  advanta- 
geously. In  the  widening  of  residential  streets  the  experience  of  New 
York  taught  that  the  cost  should  be  assessed  against  abutting  prop- 
erty. But  in  the  case  of  thoroughfares  of  greater  use,  the  assessment 
district  should  be  extended  beyond  abutting  property. 

Mr.  Lewis  enlarged  on  the  benefits  which  immediately  follow  city 
improvements  by  showing  "that  property  jumped  in  value  in  seven 
years  beyond  the  normal  increase  in  Manhattan  and  the  Bronx,  as  a 
result  of  the  first  subway,  $85,000,000.  The  cost  of  the  subway  pass- 
ing through  that  portion  affected  was  $13,000,000,  and  the  cost  of 
the  entire  subway  was  $43,000,000,  so  that  if  the  property  owners 
affected  had  paid  for  the  entire  subway  they  would  have  cleared  $37,- 
500,000,  even  allowing  for  an  interest  charge  of  six  per  cent  until 
their  profits  were  realized. ' ' 

The  Assessment  Principle. 

Concluding  his  address,  Engineer  Lewis  said:  "A  desire  for 
something  which  involves  no  direct  cost  is  not  a  sign  of  intelligent 
interest.  We  are  learning  that  the  improvement  of  our  cities  pays. 
That  is  a  hopeful  sign.  If  we  have  simply  reached  the  stage  where 
we  want  better  conditions  only  if  some  one  else  is  to  pay  the  bills,  the 
hope  has  not  a  very  substantial  basis.  If  we  want  them  badly  enough 
to  pay  for  them  ourselves  in  proportion  to  the  benefit  we  feel  sure 
will  follow,  we  are  making  real  progress. ' ' 

Street  Commissioner  Gallivan  of  Boston  gave  the  conference 
several  illustrations,  notably  that  of  the  widening  of  Avery  street, 
which  had  greatly  increased  values  in.  Boston,  He  stated  that  this 
Avery  street  improvement  had  been  followed  by  the  creation  of  a  new 
retail  center  and  that  the  increase  in  values  of  taxable  property  would 
in  a  short  time  cover  every  expenditure  which  the  city  had  made  for 
the  improvements.     Answering  the  question,  "Who  shall  pay  the  cost 

—  18  — 


Report  of  the  City  Plan  Commission 


of  city  planning  ? ' '  Commissioner  Gallivan  said :  "  I  see  no  good  rea- 
son why  the  millions  spent  by  American  municipalities  for  public  im- 
provements should  not  be  returned  in  generous  proportion  by  land 
owners  who  reap  such  tremendous  resultant  profits. ' ' 

City  Planning  Conclusions. 

At  the  close  of  the  last  session  the  National  Conference  adopted 
the  following  as  the  city  planning  conclusions  reached  in  the  experi- 
ence of  those  composing  the  body : 

"Where  there  is  local  benefit  there  should  always  be  local  as- 
sessment on  the  land  benefited. 

"The  entire  city,  or  the  metropolitan  district,  should  bear  no 
part  of  the  expense  unless  the  improvement  is  in  some  degree  of 
metropolitan  importance  and  benefit. 

' '  Assessments  should  not  be  confined  to  the  cost  of  acquiring  and 
improving  streets,  but  should  extend  to  any  improvement  which  "will 
increase  the  value  of  the  neighboring  property,  and  should  be  appor- 
tioned as  nearly  as  possible  according  to  the  probable  benefit, 

' '  A  workable  policy  once  adopted  should  be  consistently  adhered 
to." 

Of  the  sixteen  largest  cities  in  the  United  States  St.  Louis  to-day 
ranks  fourth  in  population  and  twelfth  in  indebtedness  in  proportion 
to  population.  The  687,029  St.  Louisans  are  carrying  a  debt  of  only 
$35.49  per  capita.  Only  four  of  these  sixteen  largest  cities  have  a 
smaller  debt  in  proportion  to  population  than  St.  Louis.  This  re- 
markable showing  is  due  in  the  main  to  the  wisdom  of  former  genera- 
tions of  St.  Louisans  in  the  matter  of  expenditure  for  parks. 

St.  Louis'  Distinction. 

An  analysis  of  the  municipal  debts  of  the  other  large  cities  of  the 
country  shows  that  their  obligations  were  incurred  largely  for  the 
acquisition  of  park  property.  In  the  case  of  St.  Louis,  land  for 
parks  was  obtained  in  advance  of  the  growth  of  the  city  at  prices 
which  now  seem  insignificant.  This  city  for  many  years  enjoyed  the 
distinction  of  having  the  greatest  park  acreage  in  proportion  to  pop- 
ulation of  any  city  in  the  United  States.  That  distinction  was  ob- 
tained by  the  purchase  of  land  for  large  parks  thirty-five  years  ago, 
long  before  the  city  had  grown  to  actually  need  these  parks.  The 
price  per  acre  paid  for  Forest  Park  was  only  $620. 

—  19  — 


Report  of  the  City  Plan  Commission 


The  same  argument  which  prompted  the  people  of  St.  Louis 
thirty-five  years  ago  to  acquire  Forest,  0 'Fallon  and  Carondelet 
parks  applies  now  to  the  proposed  traffic-parkway.  The  property  to 
be  condemned  can  be  acquired  to-day  at  very  low  prices  when  imme- 
diate and  future  benefits  are  taken  into  consideration.  These  prices 
average  much  lower  to-day  than  they  have  for  many  years.  They 
prompt  speedy  action  if  there  is  merit  in  the  plan  to  redeem  this  cen- 
tral section  of  the  city  from  its  present  degradation  and  to  insure  for 
the  future  the  character  to  which  its  location  entitles  it. 

A  Wise  Generation. 

The  foresight  of  those  who  planned  and  legislated  in  1870-80  for 
the  future  St.  Louis  gave  the  city  not  only  Forest,  0 'Fallon  and  Ca- 
rondelet parks,  but  widened  to  one  hundred  feet  the  narrow  country 
roads  now  known  as  Kingshighway,  Union  and  Delmar  boulevards. 
The  ground  for  this  additional  width  was  taken  at  acre  prices  from 
farms.  If  the  petitions  and  arguments  of  real  estate  men  had  been 
accepted  in  1850-60  by  the  authorities,  Grand  avenue,  as  laid  out 
then,  would  be  to-day  150  feet  wide  instead  of  the  eighty  feet,  already 
suffering  from  congestion  in  the  vicinity  of  Olive  street. 

The  ordinance  creating  this  body  further  directs  the  City  Plan 
Commission  "to  suggest  the  State  and  municipal  legislation  necessary 
to  carry  out  the  recommendations  of  the  Commission. ' ' 

In  conformance  with  this  provision  the  City  Plan  Commission 
has  held  conferences  with  the  Board  of  Public  Improvements  and  with 
the  Law  Department  of  the  City  of  St.  Louis.  The  Law  and  Leg^'slation 
Committee  of  the  Commission  is  conducting  a  thorough  investigation 
of  such  sections  of  the  charters  of  other  cities  as  relate  to  improve- 
ments of  the  character  contemplated  for  St.  Louis.  Legislative  enact- 
ments conferring  elsewhere  municipal  powers  which  St.  Louis  does 
not  possess  are  being  examined  as  to  their  practical  operation.  These 
inquiries  are  being  made  thoroughly  and  are  progressing  satisfac- 
torily. 

Legislation  Needed. 

The  members  of  the  Commission  are  unanimously  of  the  opinion 
that  the  city  planning  movement  upon  which  St.  Louis  has  entered 
may  be  greatly  expedited  and  made  far  less  burdensome  by  action  of 
the  Missouri  Legislature  at  the  coming  session  and  by  amendments  to 
the  city  charter  at  the  municipal  election  of  April,  1913.     The  prepara  - 

—  20  — 


Report  of  the  City  Plan  Commission 


tioii  of  the  provisions  to  be  presented  to  the  Legislature  and  of  char- 
ter amendments  to  be  submitted  to  the  voters  has  been  undertaken. 
The  definite  suggestions  of  the  Commission  as  to  the  needed  addi- 
tions to  the  municipal  powers  will  be  laid  before  the  Municipal  As- 
sembly. 

The  Commission  is  strongly  impressed  with  the  conviction  that 
the  city  authority  in  the  matter  of  acquisition  of  property  for  park 
and  boulevard  purposes  should  be  strengthened  and  should  be  more 
clearly  expressed.  The  Commission  believes  that  in  such  acquisition 
the  power  should  be  conferred  on  the  Municipal  Assembly  to  give  the 
property  owner  upon  whom  benefits  are  assessed  the  privilege  of 
meeting  such  assessments  in  installments,  distributed  through  such 
series  of  years  for  each  case  as  the  Assembly  in  its  judgment  may 
deem  just. 

The  Commission  urges  such  legislation  as  shall  divide  the  cost 
of  the  proposed  improvements  between  the  adjacent  property  own- 
ers and  the  whole  city  on  an  equitable  basis. 

In  entering  upon  the  practical  details  of  this  extensive  movement 
for  betterment  of  St.  Louis  the  Commission  realizes  that  the  munici- 
pal government  will  proceed  more  expeditiously  and  with  greater 
satisfaction  to  property  owners  and  the  people  generally  if  the  legal 
basis  is  made  sure  and  the  interests  of  all  are  recognized  and  pro- 
tected in  the  legislation  suggested. 

Respectfully, 

C.  P.  WALBRIDGB,  Chairman. 
J.  H.  GUNDLACH, 
J.  H.  SOMMERICH, 
MAXIME  REBER, 
JAMES  C.  TRAVILLA, 
DWIGHT  M.  DAVIS, 
GEORGE  E.  KESSLER, 
HUGO  A.  KOEHLER, 
PHILIP  C.  SCANLAN, 
COLIN  M.  SELPH, 
CHAS.  A.  STIX, 
HARRY  B.  WALLACE, 
THOMAS  C.  YOUNG. 

WALTER  B.  STEVENS, 

Secretary. 

July  9,  1912. 

—  21  — 


L) 


PLATS  OF  BLOCKS  RECOMMENDED  FOR  CONDEMNATION. 

The  amounts  on  corners  indicate  the  assessor's  valuations  (for  taxes  of 
1912)  per  front  foot  of  ground  for  lots  of  25  feet  frontage.  The  amounts  in 
middle  of  blocks  indicate  the  assessor's  valuations  per  front  foot  of  ground 
for  remainder  of  frontage. 

Amounts  in  center  of  blocks  indicate  the  assessor's  total  valuations  of 
improvements  on  that  portion  of  each  block  within  street  and  alley  lines 
shown. 


Thirteenth  street  (177'  8%") 


Twelfth  street  (194') 
23  — 


The  amounts  on  corners  indicate  the  assessor's  valuations  (for  taxes  of 
1912)  per  front  foot  of  ground  for  lots  of  25  feet  frontage.  The  amounts  in 
middle  of  blocks  indicate  the  assessor's  valuations  per  front  foot  of  ground 
for  remainder  of  frontage. 

Amounts  in  center  of  blocks  indicate  the  assessor's  total  valuations  of 
improvements  on  that  portion  of  each  block  within  street  and  alley  lines 
shown. 

Fourteenth  street  (160') 


Thirteenth  street  (160') 
—  24  — 


The  amounts  on  corners  indicate  the  assessor's  valuations  (for  taxes  of 
1912)  per  front  foot  of  ground  for  lots  of  25  feet  frontage.  The  amounts  in 
middle  of  blocks  indicate  the  assessor's  valuations  per  front  foot  of  ground 
for  remainder  of  frontage. 

Amounts  in  center  of  blocks  indicate  the  assessor's  total  valuations  of 
improvements  on  that  portion  of  each  block  within  street  and  alley  lines 
shown. 

Fifteenth  street  (160') 


Fourteenth  street  (160') 
—  25  — 


The  amounts  on  corners  indicate  the  assessor's  valuations  (for  taxes  of 
1912)  per  front  foot  of  ground  for  lots  of  25  feet  frontage.  The  amounts  in 
middle  of  blocks  indicate  the  assessor's  valuations  per  front  foot  of  ground 
for  remainder  of  frontage. 

Amounts  in  center  of  blocks  indicate  the  assessor's  total  valuations  of 
improvements  on  that  portion  of  each  block  within  street  and  alley  lines 
shown. 

Sixteenth  street  (160') 


Fifteenth  street  (160') 
—  26  — 


The  amounts  on  corners  indicate  the  assessor's  valuations  (for  taxes  of 
1912)  per  front  foot  of  ground  for  lots  of  25  feet  frontage.  The  amounts  in 
middle  of  blocks  indicate  the  assessor's  valuations  per  front  foot  of  ground 
for  remainder  of  frontage. 

Amounts  in  center  of  blocks  indicate  the  assessor's  total  valuations  of 
improvements  on  that  portion  of  each  block  within  street  and  alley  lines 
shown. 

■  Seventeenth  street  (160') 


Sixteenth  street  (160') 
—  27  — 


The  amounts  on  corners  indicate  the  assessor's  valuations  (for  taxes  of 
1912)  per  front  foot  of  ground  for  lots  of  25  feet  frontage.  The  amounts  in 
middle  of  blocks  indicate  the  assessor's  valuations  per  front  foot  of  ground 
for  remainder  of  frontage. 

Amounts  in  center  of  blocks  indicate  the  assessor's  total  valuations  of 
improvements  on  that  portion  of  each  block  within  street  and  alley  lines 
shown. 

Eighteenth  street  (160') 


Seventeenth  street  (160') 
—  28  — 


< 

'X 
H 

H 
H 


Pipaiii 


> 


The  amounts  on  corners  indicate  the  assessor's  valuations  (for  taxes  of 
1912)  per  front  foot  of  ground  for  lots  of  25  feet  frontage.  The  amounts  in 
middle  of  blocks  indicate  the  assessor's  valuations  per  front  foot  of  ground 
for  remainder  of  frontage. 

Amounts  in  center  of  blocks  indicate  the  assessor's  total  valuations  of 
improvements  on  that  portion  of  each  block  within  street  and  alley  lines 
shown. 

Nineteenth  street  (160') 


Eighteenth  street  (160') 
—  29  — 


The  amounts  on  corners  indicate  the  assessor's  valuations  (for  taxes  of 
1912)  per  front  foot  of  ground  for  lots  of  25  feet  frontage.  The  amounts  in 
middle  of  blocls;s  indicate  the  assessor's  valuations  per  front  foot  of  ground 
for  remainder  of  frontage. 

Amounts  in  center  of  blocks  indicate  the  assessor's  total  valuations  of 
improvements  on  that  portion  of  each  block  within  street  and  alley  lines 
shown. 

Twentieth  street  (160') 


Nineteenth  street  (160') 
—  30  — 


The  amounts  on  corners  indicate  the  assessor's  valuations  (for  taxes  of 
1912)  per  front  foot  of  ground  for  lots  of  25  feet  frontage.  The  amounts  in 
middle  of  blocks  indicate  the  assessor's  valuations  per  front  foot  of  ground 
for  remainder  of  frontage. 

Amounts  in  center  of  blocks  indicate  the  assessor's  total  valuations  of 
improvements  on  that  portion  of  each  block  within  street  and  alley  lines 
shown. 

Twenty-first  street  (160') 


Twentieth  street  (160') 
—  31  — 


219314 


The  amounts  on  corners  indicate  the  assessor's  valuations  (for  taxes  of 
1912)  per  front  foot  of  ground  for  lots  of  25  feet  frontage.  The  amounts  in 
middle  of  blocks  indicate  the  assessor's  valuations  per  front  foot  of  ground 
for  remainder  of  frontage. 

Amounts  in  center  of  blocks  indicate  the  assessor's  total  valuations  of 
improvements  on  that  portion  of  each  block  within  street  and  alley  lines 
shown. 

Twenty-second  street  (160') 


Twenty-first  street  (160') 

—  32  — 


The  amounts  on  corners  indicate  the  assessor's  valuations  (for  taxes  of 
1912)  per  front  foot  of  ground  for  lots  of  25  feet  frontage.  The  amounts  in 
middle  of  blocks  indicate  the  assessor's  valuations  per  front  foot  of  ground 
for  remainder  of  frontage. 

Amounts  in  center  of  blocks  indicate  the  assessor's  total  valuations  of 
improvements  on  that  portion  of  each  block  within  street  and  alley  lines 
shown. 

Twenty-third  street  (160') 


Twenty-second  street  (160') 
—  33  — 


The  amounts  on  corners  indicate  the  assessor's  valuations  (for  taxes  of 
1912)  per  front  foot  of  ground  for  lots  of  25  feet  frontage.  The  amounts  in 
middle  of  blocks  indicate  the  assessor's  valuations  per  front  foot  of  ground 
for  remainder  of  frontage. 

Amounts  in  center  of  blocks  indicate  the  assessor's  total  valuations  of 
improvements  on  that  portion  of  each  block  within  street  and  alley  lines 
shown. 


$75 
$75 
$75 


$47,600 


$65 


$125 


$225 


$34,000 


$55 


$60 
$100 


Twenty-third  street  (160') 
—  34  — 


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SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILTY 

405  Hllgard  Avenue,  Los  Angeles,  CA  90024-1388 

Return  this  material  to  the  library 

from  vwhich  it  vwas  borrowed. 


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\.7^nVERSnT  of  CALIFORNIA 


9127   St.  Louis. 
SlSl   Cit:/  plan 
1912   coinrnisslon- 
Central  trafflc- 

parl^.'^ay. 


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